The eligibility date was pushed back from its original cut off of Sept. 28 thanks to the Grammy Awards ceremony's move to January 31. "Music's biggest night," as the ceremony bills itself, usually take place in February, but moved back this year due to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, which run from February 12 until March 12.

The Grammy move means that Mariah Carey's latest, "Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel," out Sept. 29, won't be eligible for the January awards show. The album was pushed back from an initial Aug. 25 release date that would've made it a possible contender.

The Grammy eligibility period for the next ceremony, slated for Jan. 31 on CBS, began in October 2008, making popular 2008 albums such as Taylor Swift's "Fearless" and Beyonce's "I Am… Sasha Fierce" likely nominees.